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Battle of the Four Valleys
The Battle of the Four Valleys was the final stage of the Siege of Mars. After the battle, Martian resistance was no more. Background After the battle in Mars' orbit, two orbital insertions were made, after it was clear that orbital bombardment alone would not cleanse a world so wealthy and densely populated. The tachyon fields which protected Martian cities drove this point home. The Genitors' fusion bombs could not penetrate the fields, and such, only exterior Martian infrastructure could be damaged. This would not suit the Genitors, who longed only for the eradication of the Martians. After the Battle of Jotuan Plains and the Battle of Zhanuigur, despite valiant resistance from Triple Alliance forces, a strong Genitor foothold was established on the Martian surface. Once any and all ground resistance was dealt with, the Genitors could set towards disabling the tachyon fields around the cities, and standby to kill any stragglers. The Martians, obviously, wanted to prevent this from happening. A single decisive victory against Genitor ground forces would prevent the sieging fleet in orbit from doing any substantial damage. Such a victory would also convince a great deal of Grand Alliance members to pitch in their support in the war again, and Mars could potentially be reinforced. The Battlescape The battle took place in the north pole of Mars, which was the planned region to make a final stand against the Genitor ground forces. The Tiansorka Dynasty had moved in and claimed a relatively small region of four valleys which formed a vaguely X-shape. The last troops from the Triple Alliance, 600,000, were moved in and fortified the valleys, using the terrain to their advantage. They laid traps, built pillboxes, set up machine gun nests and sniper positions, and pack guns. There were many chokepoints, wherein more permanent fortifications were established, designed to withstand attacks from either side. This was true, of course, for all but one of the valleys. It was hoped that the Genitors would occupy this valley first. It was unfavorable terrain to attack from, because of its rolling slopes that exposed the weakest armour of vehicles towards the Martian forces, and these same slopes denied cover to the Genitor Infantry. The Martians hoped to make full use of their advantages at long-range through direct-fire tactics at exposed enemy forces. Plus, it fell right in with the popular Martian strategy of yielding the enemy poor ground and counter-attacking through it at the optimal time. The climate itself was another factor. Mars by this point was already an extreme and hostile world. Its climate was changing in part because of the ongoing Genitor bombardment. Its hostility was amplified even further in the poles, however, where the freezing temperatures would have detrimental effects on machinery and thus could potentially kill soldiers outright. Course of the Battle Genitor forces indeed moved into the valley the Martians hoped. The plan was put into action -- allow the Genitors to advance into this terrain sufficiently and then rapidly counter-attack. The Genitors, however, moved far faster than previously thought possible. Scouts would have been able to report the movements, but poor weather conditions disrupted radio communications.